Today marked the middle-point of Camp – by night-time, four days gone and four to go. Aside from the Corps of Drums (for whom this was their Adventurous Training Day) and the Adult Instructors (for whom this was the dreaded Assessment Day), the main theme of the day was the cycling around of training cadres, two of whom – the Two Star Training and Assessment cadres – came to the end of their Fieldcraft sessions, as evidenced by the multiple blank-firing exercises erupting across the training area, as Cadet patrols bumped against their adult instructors, now playing the part of the villainous enemy with a frequently dubious dress-sense.

As these exercises drew to a close, the Three and Four Star cadres were preparing their Cadets for a deployment into the field in the late afternoon, where they will live for the next two nights, under shelters they were completing as the light faded.

Do you have what it takes to serve with GMACF, either as an Adult Volunteer or as a Cadet? Are you looking for an opportunity to work hard and develop new skills? If so, why not contact GMACF County HQ on 01204 512600.

Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force can also be found in other locations on the Internet

The third day of our Annual Camp saw training cadres all around Crowborough Camp and beyond as the tempo of Camp began to rise.

Decidedly out of Camp were the two Two Star cadres, who had moved out onto the training area last night and had spent the night in shelters they had rigged for themselves. Despite the brief excitement of a pre-dawn shower, this had passed by breakfast time (at least breakfast time for normal folks not wearing camouflage gear and practicing more war-like regimes), and the remainder of the day was warm and sunny. One of the Three Star cadres, along with the Four Stars had meanwhile moved to the adventurous training site some 40 minutes up the road, spending the morning falling into a lake, or causing others to do so, all in the name of canoeing and raft-building; the afternoon was spent biking and orienteering.

The remaining Three Star Cadre had spent part of the morning in Camp, only to mount their Great Escape later, disguised as a Navigation Exercise, returning to camp before they got too hungry. Following the previous day’s shooting practice, the Corps of Drums spent several hours on Tuesday on band practice, whilst the Adult’s training cadre took their place on the 25m and Shotgun ranges, supervised by the County Shooting Officer, Lt Paul Anderton and his increasingly veteran team of coaches, some recently returned from national competition at Bisley. The adults had the opportunity to develop their own marksmanship skills, whilst coaching each other. In a few months’ time, they’ll be passing these skills on to Cadets.

Do you have what it takes to serve with GMACF, either as an Adult Volunteer or as a Cadet? Are you looking for an opportunity to work hard and develop new skills? If so, why not contact GMACF County HQ on 01204 512600.

Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force can also be found in other locations on the Internet

The idea of training by cadres might be new to the County, but what has remained unchanged on this first training day has been the energy and determination shown by all, Cadets and staff alike. Most remained in the Camp – though that will very quickly change as huddles of Cadets went through the age-old routine of preparing to go into the field by packing, unpacking and then re-packing again to ensure that they have what they need and know which pocket or pouch of waterproof bag to find it in; even though this was a glorious day, these are the older, more experienced Cadets and they know how fickle “Exercise Weather” can be.

This is an outline of what happened today:

The Two Star Cadets – two groups of them, one training, one being assessed for their Two Star awards – spent most of the day preparing to go into the field, liberally supplied with water, sun tan cream and insect repellent

The Three Star Training cadre spent a happy day on adventurous training, including canoeing, managing to press-gang one of the Press Team into a boat, which even stayed upright

The Three Star Assessment cadre spent their day trying to remember how to navigate in sunny conditions, where they can actually see the terrain unimpeded by cloud and mist

Four Star Cadets spent their time going through Fieldcraft skills including the delivery of Orders

The Corps of Drums meanwhile spent their day on the 25m Range, being assessed on their marksmanship skills.

Do you have what it takes to serve with GMACF, either as an Adult Volunteer or as a Cadet? Are you looking for an opportunity to work hard and develop new skills? If so, why not contact GMACF County HQ on 01204 512600.

Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force can also be found in other locations on the Internet

Former Commandant Colonel Mike Glover, accompanied by his wife Elizabeth was recently welcomed back to the Holcombe Moor Cadet Training Centre by current Commandant, Colonel Paul Irvine and members of the Officers’ and Senior Ranks Messes, their aim being to unveil an oak tree and bench outside “the White House”, a building with which many current and former members of the Reserve and Cadet Forces will be thoroughly conversant, having been put to many uses over the years.

Blessed by unusually fine weather, Colonel Glover made a short addressed, followed by a short test flight of the new bench, before everyone retired to the Mess for a slap-up lunch provided by the Camp staff.

Do you have what it takes to serve with GMACF, either as an Adult Volunteer or as a Cadet? Are you looking for an opportunity to work hard and develop new skills? If so, why not contact GMACF County HQ on 01204 512600.

Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force can also be found in other locations on the Internet

Cadets and staff from Number One (Minden) Company, GMACF gave up a weekend recently to support Cancer Research UK run the annual Pretty Mudder and Race for Life events in Heaton Park, Prestwich. This annual event raises hundreds of thousands of pounds to help in cancer research.

Day One started at 8 am with Cadets travelling to Heaton Park to be briefed on the Pretty Mudder Event. As the morning went on, the day became hotter and hotter and more and more participants arrived in various shades of pink.

For those taking part in the event it started with a gentle warm up. The Cadets showed off their abilities in dance warm up sessions throughout the day, assisted by an instructor on the main stage.

For the ladies taking part, the route comprised a 5 Km route going over, under and through various obstacles, those obstacles involving lots and lots of mud added by water, kindly topped up by the Cadets, who took the opportunity to practice their shooting skills, not with their usual rifles, but with large powerful water pistols. They filled the pistol with nice cold water, taking aim and firing a long stream of water at their victims, which resulted in some loud shrieks from those taking part.

At the end of the race the final straight to the finish was lined by the Cadets, giving loads of encouragement for the muddy and tired participants. Race completed, success was rewarded by a medal and a nice bottle of water handed out by the Cadets.

Once the last of the participants had gone through the course the Cadets took the opportunity to show their own love of mud and do the course. Not making any attempt to keep their uniforms clean.

After a long day, with numerous medals and bottles of water handed out the they headed off home, for many to return on Sunday.

Sunday saw them return for another hot day in the sun. Uniforms now all clean and smart after the previous day in the mud – parents – how do you do that?

A gentler day saw several thousand ladies, children and even dogs arriving to run, jog and walk the two 5km and 10km events around the grounds of Heaton Park, each with their own personal stories and reasons for attending on T-shirts and cards carried on their backs.

Once again, Cadets displayed their dancing skills to assist in the warm-up, whilst others fired streamer cannons over the participants announcing the race was about to start. Guided by a line of cadets the thousands of runners were led to the start line and on the sound of the air horn, they were off.

On the successful completion of the course cadets welcomed the runners with a high fives, a medal and bottle of cooling water to drink. Even the dogs got their very own medals for completing the run.

The day was complete, thousands of bottles of water and medals handed out and a successful weekend was over with £450,000 raised for a very important cause.

Cadets returned home for a well-earned rest and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Do you have what it takes to serve with GMACF, either as an Adult Volunteer or as a Cadet? Are you looking for an opportunity to work hard and develop new skills? If so, why not contact GMACF County HQ on 01204 512600.

Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force can also be found in other locations on the Internet

This time of year is the pinnacle of Cadet Target Rifle Shooting with the Inter Service Cadet Rifle Meeting otherwise known as ISCRM held at the well-known Centenary Range on the National Rifle Association grounds at Bisley in Surrey, the home of British shooting.

Prior to the competition, the top 20 teams in the ACF attend a four-day pre-Bisley shooting and coaching course to help prepare Cadets and coaches. Due to limited time on the range prior to the ISCRM we needed all the practice we could get! This year GMACF had 10 Cadets attending, who left Holcombe Moor on Sunday 2nd July for the drive down to Surrey, where Pirbright Camp would be our home for the next eight days.

The week started off with a series of lectures and then straight onto the ranges firing at 100m, 300m, 500m and 600m. Sadly, due to the excessive heat we had to stop training early on Wednesday though this didn’t put the teams off their game.

On Thursday, the final day of pre-Bisley, the teams took part in the Commonwealth Match to help coaches see how their teams worked in a timed shoot. At this point, team selections were finalised.

Team A consisted of Cdt Sgt Anderson, Cdt Sgt Short, Cdt LCpl Wolstenholme and Cdt LCpl Marsland, coached by myself. In Team B were Cdt LBdr Mason, Cdt LCpl Savery, Cdt Homes and Cdt Phillips, coached by 2Lt Chris Townson. Cdt LCpl Davies and Cdt Lythgoe then took the role of team markers working for the duration of the competition in the butts marking the targets where the rounds landed, to allow the teams to adjust their sights after each shot.

After Lunch all the teams representing the Sea Cadets, Air Training Corps, Combined Cadet Force and the ACF – a total of 84 teams – descended on Bisley and Pirbright Camp

Friday started in earnest with a practice shoot at 300m, to ensure any last-minute sight adjustments and introduce the teams to how the competition would work from then on. Straight after came the individual 300m Shoot and 600m Shoot, fighting the horrible wind on Centenary Range swirling from all directions. Sadly, again because of the heat, the day was cut short and the Cadet Coached Shoot was cancelled (the Cadet Coached Shoot is where the Cadets coach each other, with no adult coaches are allowed on the firing point.

After another early start, Saturday started at a brisk pace with two shoots at 300m immediately followed by two shoots at 500m. These shoots where for both the Frankfort Trophy and Patriotic Shield, each completion assessed by the combined scores at both 300m and 500m. The combined scores from Saturday and the 600m shoot from Friday determine the rankings for the Cadet 100 award. This is the overall ranking of all ACF Cadets.

Last year, we managed to get one firer in the top one hundred; this year the team achieved three top 100 places Cdt Sgt Short, Cdt Sgt Anderson and Cdt LCpl Wolstenholme placing 33rd, 83rd and 93rd respectively out of a total of 329 ACF Cadets – a glowing reflection of all the hard work put in by Cadets and adults alike and a just reward for all the freezing winter practices at Holcombe in January and February. Saturday night saw the team enjoy a well-earned rest and recuperation with a visit to Pizza Hut!

Another early start on Sunday saw all the teams descending on Century Range for the last competition, the Watts Bowl, fired at 600m, the longest competition with 12 rounds fired by each team member, all of them counting to the final score. The final shoot of the day was the Inter-Service Competition with teams of 8 Cadets from of all UK Cadet organisations and Canadian teams shooting against each other.

Straight after this, the Cadet 100 parade is held on the Range where the Cadets are presented with their Cadet 100 badges by senior ACF officers. The last thing to do before heading back home is the Butt Markers Parade where all the teams and coaches applaud all the Cadets who have spent the week working in the butts – it’s our way of saying thank you for all their hard work.

The competition was a huge success not only for the three who gained their Cadet 100 but for our younger members who were attending for the first time and whose shooting improved over the weekend.

As most of the team departed on the long journey home Cdt Sgt Short and Cdt Marsland stayed behind to participate in further competitions. Cdt Sgt Short has been selected to travel to Canada for six weeks to participate in the Army Cadet Leadership Instructor Marksmanship course, attached to the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Force, while Cdt Marsland is staying at Bisley for a further two weeks to take part in the Cadet Imperial Competition.

I would like to say a big thank you to all the Cadets who took part as well as the staff – Lt Short, 2Lt Townson, SI Bland, SI Gibb and SI Maunder for all their determined effort over the week.

Do you have what it takes to serve with GMACF, either as an Adult Volunteer or as a Cadet? Are you looking for an opportunity to work hard and develop new skills? If so, why not contact GMACF County HQ on 01204 512600.

Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force can also be found in other locations on the Internet

With the assistance from members of staff from across the County with local knowledge and experience of central London and the surrounding areas, Lt Emma Harrison (OC Waterloo Company) embarked on planning an opportunity of a life time for a number of cadets from the Company.

A group of Cadets accompanied by staff set off late morning on Friday 9th June on the journey south. The main aim of the trip was to attend the Colonel’s Review of the Queens birthday celebration parade (in non-Army, a full dress rehearsal).

On arrival at South London Scout Centre everyone was given an orientation of the accommodation and facilities, dropped their kit into rooms, freshened up and headed out to a local eatery. Back at the centre, it was off to bed ready for an early start the following day.

In the morning, with blazing sun coming through the curtains everyone was up, ready and raring to go.

After the short journey into the city we headed to take our seats on the parade ground at Horse Guards ready for the parade to begin. With the weather warming up, the emergency supplies of water and sun cream were open up, our spirits improved further by news of the rain back home in Manchester.

This year, the Colour being parade belonged to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, supported by the soldiers of all five Regiments of Foot Guards, resplendent in the traditional scarlet of the British Infantry.

It took the Cadets a while to notice His Royal Highness, Prince William on horse-back ride onto the parade to take the salute. This would be the only difference to the following week’s parade where the Queen would, as for decades past, take the salute.

On completion of the parade we headed over to Wellington Barracks to take Lunch and have a look around the famous Barracks. After lunch it was off see St James Park, Buckingham Palace, St James’ Palace, Clarence House, Churchill’s War Rooms, Admiralty Arch, Downing Street, finishing off with a guided tour inside Horse Guards. What a day!

Back at the Scout centre everyone enjoyed some downtime to relax and freshen up then out again to a famous chicken restaurant chain for dinner. This was followed in the evening with a little more downtime followed by a briefing from Lt Harrison on the next day’s activities.

The following morning again began with glorious sunshine. After breakfast and handing back the accommodation, we headed out to Windsor. The first stop on the list was a visit to the home of the Coldstream Guards – Victoria Barracks. On walking onto the parade square a comment came from a Cadet about how Victoria Barracks is HAD to be a Guards camp as everything was so clean, tidy and symmetrical.

After having a look round various places within the Barracks, we headed off to Windsor Castle. As we pulled up to the entrance, the Sovereign’s flag was flying which identified that a Royal was there. The Cadets had the opportunity to explore the Castle with the assistance of an audio guide.

On leaving Windsor a quick pit stop for lunch was followed by the lengthy journey North, with our Cadets’ heads stuffed with happy memories if a weekend well-spent.

Do you have what it takes to serve with GMACF, either as an Adult Volunteer or as a Cadet? Are you looking for an opportunity to work hard and develop new skills? If so, why not contact GMACF County HQ on 01204 512600.

Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force can also be found in other locations on the Internet